


Codec Calls: Concerning Overwatch Operatives

by levelwhat



Category: Metal Gear, Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Codec Call, Dialogue-Only, Drama, Gen, Humor
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-15
Updated: 2017-02-03
Packaged: 2018-08-15 04:33:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 4,135
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8042773
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/levelwhat/pseuds/levelwhat
Summary: In the midst of new missions, Snake needs help identifying some colorful and unique enemies. Not the ones from FOXHOUND, or Dead Cell, or the B&B Unit...





	1. Not-Big Boss

“Otacon, there’s this one-eyed woman running around with a sniper rifle...”

 

_“That sounds like Ana Amari, an ex-Overwatch member—  but not just any member, the second-in-command to the original strike team."_

 

“Second-in-command? She’s shooting and chucking grenades at her own allies. Maybe she’s finally going senile.”

 

_“Trust me Snake, she’s doing that on purpose. Those grenades and her rifle’s rounds are filled with unique biotics registered to retroactively accelerate her allies’ nanomachines. Basically, the friendly fire is healing her teammates!”_

 

“Can nanomachines really do that? I know how they’ve progressed the technology in the last few decades, but still…”

 

_“Sorry, but the details are more for Naomi's expertise, not mine.”_

 

“If I can find a sniper rifle for myself, I can keep her attention focused on avoiding me, and not healing.”

 

_“That could work. But keep in mind that everyone in Overwatch is hand-picked. Mrs. Amari was regarded as one of the best sharpshooters in the world, before she fell out of the public eye, at least. Even without her dominant eye, she knows how to keep observant on everything in the battlefield, and will position herself in key places to get the most out of her rounds. She cares an awful lot for those under her, and won’t abandon them.”_

 

“Hmph. I don’t have to out-snipe her. She’s not like…”

 

_“...Snake?”_

 

“...No one. Nevermind. How about if I get close and flank her from the side?”

 

_“That could work too. She’s not as fast as she was in her youth. But you’d be hard pressed to find, well let’s just say, a taste of your own medicine.”_

 

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

 

_“Her off-hand weapon is a tranq gun. It’s not as potent as yours, but it can make a serious difference in a fight when the enemy is down one man, even for a moment.”_

 

“Okay, I’ll keep that in mind too.”

 

_“Ha-ha! Hey, you know what? Doesn’t she remind you of someone?”_

 

“No?”

 

_"Aww, come on! One eye missing, disappeared for a long time, use of tranquilizers, a sharpshooter, ‘a mother to her men?‘ No one comes to mind?”_

 

“...Not a clue.”

 

 

  

 


	2. The Cyborg Ninja

"Another ninja!"

 

" _Snake, Raiden isn't fit for battle. He's still here recovering white blood."_

 

"No Naomi, I mean there's another one. This one just threw some shuriken and dashed up a building!"

 

" _You must have encountered Genji Shimada, another ex-Overwatch agent. He's… outfitted with high-grade cybernetics."_

 

"Who did this to him? DARPA? The Patriots? You should've learned something during your stints with them, Naomi."

 

" _I knew nothing about this, I swear. Apparently, Overwatch themselves did it. Records say he was rescued by their operatives and given the implants to save him from the brink of death. The plans behind the cybernetics appear to be a middle ground between Raiden's cyborg body, and the exoskeleton of… Frank."_

 

"A cross between Raiden and Gray Fox? What exactly is he capable of?"

 

" _All of Genji's cybernetics enhance his physical fitness, which makes his superlative Niten Ichi-ryū style even more dangerous_ _. His reflexes are quick enough to deflect projectiles with his_ _wakizashi_ _, and is strong enough to scale walls by jumping over them. He can use his_ _Ryo-Ichimonji_ _for six seconds, before the high-frequency blade needs to recharge again. But his primary source of damage would be from those shuriken, which are rigged to dispense from his right hand, where the lumbrical muscles would be."_

 

"Sounds painful."

 

" _At least it might not be. There's no data containing the actual composition of what's left in him is organic or artificial. Or, he might have pain inhibitors, like Raiden… Overwatch had no right to destroy his life like this. They took advantage of him. He's theirs to torture now."_

 

"Maybe they did. But I don't think so."

 

" _How can you know that?"_

 

"It's in the way he moves. You should know that Gray Fox moved the same way in his final moments, when he saved me from Metal Gear Rex. Raiden moves the same way. They all move with purpose, making the most of what they have. What they thought was right."

 

" _...Well, what he thinks is right puts him at odds against us."_

 

"I've had my fair share against ninjas. I think I know what to do.


	3. Because the World is Worth Fighting For

_ “When there is something wrong in the forest, there is something wrong in society…” _

 

“That doesn’t sound chinese, or shakespearean.”

 

_ “The state of the world is quickly falling into disarray since Overwatch was forced to disband. And now their operatives are taking it upon themselves to regroup and fight again. That sounds an awful lot like what we tried to do with Philanthropy, don’t you think?” _

 

“Can everyone not debate the semantics while I’m trying to avoid being frozen alive, Mei Ling?”

 

_ “Frozen alive? You’re supposed to be in the western coast of Africa— hold on, are you fighting Mei-Ling Zhou?” _

 

“She’s also named Mei?” 

 

_ “So you are! Snake, please don’t try to harm her, she’s a sweet girl! Mei’s not a fighter, she was studying the climate in the ice caps for Overwatch, when a polar storm left everyone there no choice but to put themselves into cryostasis in order to survive. She was the only one that got to walk out alive… only years later. Now, she just wants to continue her work.” _

 

“You sound so personable about this. Do you know each other?” 

 

_ “Not at all. I’ve been keeping with her journals—” _

 

“Why.”

 

_ “It was only part of my data research! I wanted to know more about the recalled agents, and thought it would be enlightening to look there. I love how she gets into writing them, she becomes really funny in the later ones…” _

 

“Did you at least actually learn anything? What’s with the technology behind her weapon?”

 

_ “That’s her endothermic blaster. Mei designed it to capture animals to study without actually harming them.”  _

 

“Well, she’s using it now as a gruesome weapon of war. I’ve seen how she fights; she’s making these walls of ice that corner people, and them she freezes them in place to line up an icicle at point-blank range.”

 

_ “Snake! She’s not some masochist!” _

 

“All I’m thinking is, that maybe walking out as the sole survivor from her base affected her more than she cares to admit.”

 

_ “You’re impossible sometimes. At any case, then you know already that approaching her up-close isn’t going to work. Find a way to work at long range. And Snake?” _

 

“Yeah?”

 

_ “If anything happens to her, I’ll never forgive you!” _


	4. Old Soldiers, New Age

_ “Snake, are you familiar with Jack Morrison?” _

 

“If you’re asking I met him, I haven’t.”

 

_ “He was the first— and last— Strike-Commander for the entire Overwatch organization. There was no one above to tell him how to win; just him and his teamates to conduct their missions.” _

 

“You don’t like that, Colonel? No one from behind to tell the soldiers where to move, and who to shoot?”

 

_ “That’s not it at all. You’ve shown me, time and time again, how vital it can sometimes be to operate off-the-book. And Overwatch was an honest try at an internationally recognized to do just that. Jack Morrison grew up in the United States’ corn belt region, and was a natural candidate for the task force’s original members.” _

 

“Back then, wouldn’t that mean he was required to undergo gene therapy? The legacy of Big Boss lives on…”

 

_ “He would have, but not from Big Boss. Only the first wave of Genome Soldiers had what were identified as “Soldier Genes,” and those were discontinued. These new-grade ones are meant to keep the body in top-shape, even in old age. Snake, our databases would say that Jack Morrison you still be fit for military action.” _

 

“Now, wait a minute. You don’t mean to tell me that you also buy those Solider:76 conspiracies, do you?”

 

_ “It may not be a conspiracy. The masked vigilante the world has dubbed Solider:76 has selected very specific financial institutions, corporations, even retired Overwatch watchpoints to attack. Only someone that was high up in Overwatch would know them.” _

 

“I still don’t buy it.”

 

_ “Remember you supposedly ended Big Boss’ life, by your personal hands, twice? Remember how he still survived?” _

 

“...Fine. Let’s say Jack Morrison actually is Solider:76. What could he be possibly looking for, that he doesn’t know already?” 

 

_ “From someone from our experience… He’s most likely looking for answers. Overwatch's collapse was too sudden, and there's still ambiguity from its political backers.” _

  
“An old soldier, trying to finish an old fight… and he’s not ready to turn a new leaf. You may make a believer out of me yet, Colonel. Maybe I’ll catch this Solider:76, and ask him myself.”


	5. Another Teen Behind in the Cockpit

_“Snake, is that—”_

  
  
“Metal Gear?!”

  
_  
_ “...Wait, no it’s not! Sure, blueprints for tanks nowadays are incorporating bipedal legs, ever since the test data for Rex was leaked from Shadow Moses. But the design of this one, I’ve seen it somewhere before, and it doesn’t look capable of launching any warheads.”

  
  
“Then what kind of weapon am I dealing with?”

 

 _  
_ _“Oh! Oh-oh-oh! Snake, that’s one of the MEKA! Unbelievable!”_

  
  
“What is there to be so happy about?”

  
_  
_ _“Don’t get me started on the fusion core! Get this; fusion-powered, double-aught shotguns that don’t need to reload. And strong enough to power boosters to propel it in the air! And a defensive frame algorithm that auto targets objects fast enough to shoot out other bullets! These things are amazing!”_

  
  
“Get it together, Otacon.”

  
_  
“Sorry, sorry sorry. It’s just… this is what I dreamed Metal Gear to originally be, a machine to defend people, so someone actually built one. It makes me happy to see that.”_

  
  
“Just so we’re clear, this thing can’t fire any nukes?”

  
_  
_ _“Not at all! The worst you should worry about is if the pilot decides to overload the reactor and self-destruct."_

  
  
“She probably will. This girl in the cockpit is pretty maniacal about being in the thing. Didn’t know the military trained pilots this small.”

  
_  
_ _“Probably because she isn’t. That’s Hana Song’s registered MEKA, codename D.Va._

  
_  
_ “That one video game player you’re obsessed with? You can’t actually mean they’re the same person.”

  
_  
_ “When MEKA needed bigger numbers, they were willing to inscript anyone that showed promise at piloting one. D.Va passed the practice modules perfectly, and—”

  
  
“Let me guess; her instincts and reaction time from playing video games made her better than everyone else? Give me a break. I almost feel bad for bothering Raiden about his VR training.”   


_“I sort of agree. I mean, being good at Starcraft doesn’t really translate well to being good in a simulator. But Snake, that still takes away a lot of other important elements like natural skill, doesn’t it?” _

  
_  
_ “And how come you know so much about this girl, Otacon?”

  
_  
_ _“D.Va is a real celebrity. Hundreds watch her livestreaming combat missions.”_

  
  
“Please. Not only does that sound that idiotic, but compromises possible mission details… War really has changed. It’s becoming a spectator sport, and people are making celebrities of the people fighting them.”

  
_  
_ _“Well, If something important does show up, I’ll be sure to let you know.”_

  
  
“You mean, you’ve been watching them.”

  
_  
_ _“I spent years looking for a chance to build a robot to pilot, and she gets handed one when she’s nineteen? I get so jealous  just thinking about it! This is exactly like one of my japanese animes!”_

  
  
“After this, we’re going to have a serious talk about what you've been doing…”


	6. In Search of Secrets and Truth

_“How goes the mission in America, Snake?”_

 

“Fine. Although, who’s behind the nightlife in this area?”

 

_“Crime syndicates within the last decade are becoming more abrasive. With no more Overwatch to keep them in check, there’s only so much local law enforcements can handle. Everyone’s stealing any military-grade equipment they can, reclaiming the territory that was left behind by the infamous Deadlock Gang.”_

 

“So what’s up with the neon tattoos? Are they supposed to be thugs or fireflies?”

 

 _“That’s the signature of_ _Los  _ _Muertos_ _. They consider themselves vigilantes, revolutionaries, since Central America’s destabilized governments during the Omnic Crisis. That doesn’t stop their members from covering themselves in phosphorescent paint and sacking anyone that looks at them the wrong way.”_

 

“Maybe they're just weird cultists.”

 

_“But Snake, why are they here? Los Muertos operate in Central America, and you’re supposed to be in the United States midwest."_

 

“...I'm actually in Dorado. I already went through all of route sixty-six, and Otacon received some clues about something here."

 

_“ ——in the world are you——from the objective?”_

 

“I just said there’s— are you having trouble hearing me?”

 

_“Snake——too dangerous to——You——cautious——”_

 

“Colonel… Colonel? Colonel! You’re actually breaking up. Huh, I can’t remember the last time the Codec was malfunctioning.”

 

**_“Nothing’s wrong with your silly little Codec. Other than the fact that it’s so old fashioned.”_ **

 

“What?!”

 

 _**“It’s been surprisingly hard for me to arrange this, tú  **ser** piente**_ ** _._ ** **_I would have preferred a meeting face-to-face, but I’ll take what I can get.”_ **

 

“Who are you? What could you possibly want from me?”

  
  
**_“Relax. I’m no-one really. Just looking to have a pleasant conversation with you.”_ **

 

“Excuse me?”

 

**_“Why not! We have so much in common. We both can work outside the system, and we’re looking for the same things. So maybe we can find friends in each other?”_ **

        
“There’s already a team of people that I can trust behind me. Why would I let some little girl that I just met in?”

 

**_“I should clarify that while you work outside the system, you sure aren’t invisible to it. I could go on about Colonel Roy Campbell and Mei Ling and Hal Emmerich and the rest of your team…”_ **

 

“And by comparison you are?”

 

**_“There are certain benefits holding a few cards to myself. Look. I’m not proposing that we ‘team up’ or anything, just swap a few words every so often, share some gossip.”_ **

 

“No thanks. I’ll go without owing someone like you any favors. Doubt that this’ll be the last I hear from you anyway.”

 

**_“See, we’re already learning so much about each other! Just think about it.”_ **


	7. Protégés

“Naomi, did you ever talk to anyone in FOXHOUND?”

 

_“No. Just like the field agents, us in support were discouraged from socializing outside the mission. Actually, we never talked face-to-face at all much either. It was always over a camera, or using the codecs. Why?”_

 

“I’m curious if anyone said anything about Ocelot. But If no one ever talked to him, then there’s no point in asking. Nevermind.”

 

_“Our file on him is nervously empty. His past affiliations are no good, he’s either betrayed or abandoned them. There’s no consistent motivations to his actions in the last half-century. His defection from the Soviet Union, then FOXHOUND, Gurlukovich Mercenaries, Solidus Snake, I wouldn’t be surprised if he eventually does the same to the Patriots.”_

 

“Sure, but I’m not looking for things that I can read in a biography. The things people say about him behind his back…”

 

_“…Gossip?”_

 

“Sure.”

 

_“Ah, your knowledge about his personal life are about as good as mine.”_

 

“I wonder if Ocelot ever personally train anyone to carry his skill at a revolver…"

 

_“As in a protégé? Who exactly are you worried about?”_

 

“There’s this man I continuously encounter with these other Overwatch operatives, but I know he was never one himself. And the way he dresses? It’s like he read about Ocelot in a book somewhere, and decided to be just like him!”

 

_“You must be seeing Jesse McCree. And you’re right, he was never in Overwatch. He was a member of their covert splinter group called Blackwatch.”_

 

“Doing secret missions? That doesn’t sound like Ocelot at all.”

 

 _“McCree was also recruited young. He was caught running with the Deadlock_  _gang, and forced to join Blackwatch to avoid spending his adult life imprisoned.”_

 

“So he just happens to have an affinity for revolvers, just like Ocelot? And a replacement arm, just like Ocelot?”

 

_“His Peacekeeper isn’t a traditional revolver, but heavily modernized to fit the times Something we both could believe Revolver Ocelot would never do. And as I’m sure you’ve noticed, but intentionally left out to strengthen your case… he had his dominant right hand replaced, whereas McCree’s dominant hand is intact.”_

 

“Something I imagine Ocelot would approve of. Fine. McCree is pretty good… But a teenager doesn’t learn to shoot like he does on their own. Who do you suppose taught him?”

 

_“Most likely, the best that Overwatch had to offer. Gabriel Reyes, Jack Morrison, Ana Amari… When Overwatch began to dissolve, he was adamant in testimonials about staying neutral during the infighting. He wanted nothing to do with them afterwards.”_

 

“So he’s free to run around, doing his own form of vigilante justice?”

  
_“Snake, the harder you try to prove your point to me, the more McCree begins to resemble someone else… and it’s not Ocelot.”_


	8. The Ideal Future from Space

"Otacon."

_"Snake?"_

"There's this… gorilla, dressed up in armor and glasses. And the Overwatch agents are letting it hold a gun."

_"Oh! You must be seeing Winston! He was a huge pillar for Overwatch's research and development back when it was active, plus he was all over the news when he was first inducted. He's one of the biggest household names! You seriously never heard about him before?"_

"If I did, I forget. Unless the Patriots or Ocelot are involved, I've been keeping a closed eye on things."

_"Of course you would. You should at least try to keep up with current news! There was a good documentary about Overwatch a few years back, and another one about the Horizon Colony. I'm pretty sure they asked Winston to be interviewed for both, but he said no. I bet he'd enjoy finding a network that lets him talk about his inventions."_

"It talks? How did it… Where did he come from?

_"The moon."_

"You're kidding, right?"

_"Get ready Snake, I'm about to give you a lesson in the last thirty years of space exploration!"_

"The abridged version, please."

_"Okay, so it all started when we became obsessed with colonizing Mars. People wanted to test living conditions outside Earth and test appropriate equipment. So this private company called Horizon set up their own base on the moon. No one wanted to raise their baby in space for an experiment, so the scientists used infant gorillas instead."_

"Sounds like something the Patriots would be interested in. Expanding their sphere of influence outside our atmosphere."

_"But what the scientists weren't telling people was that they were genetically altering the gorillas! Soon the animals were growing intellectually at the same rate humans do. They were even starting to replicate human languages."_

"Who figured out how to do that?"

_"Well, this is where history starts to get, er, dark. When they were fully grown the gorillas rebelled against their captivity. They killed the humans up there and took the Horizon Lunar Colony for themselves. Winston barely managed to escape in a makeshift shuttle. No one has heard from the colony since."_

"And I bet that company is too scared to try and take it back. At least the Patriots wouldn't be interested in a project that failed."

_"So, Overwatch has provided quarter for Winston ever since. The majority of their operatives have him to thank for their gear! I wonder where he was during that decade between Overwatch disbanding and the recall. With all respect to him, being a gorilla makes it hard to blend in places…"_

"From my own experience with shut-in scientists, I bet he found himself somewhere quiet to work on his inventions."

_"Hey! I'm going to take that as a compliment!"_


	9. It Runs in the Family

"Campbell, there was this custom flight module shooting rockets down at me. Is she with the B&B Unit?”

 

_ “Hmm. I recognize the insignia and the Raptora Suit design, but all the dossiers we have don’t point to this group being stationed in Egypt— no, that’s Amari’s daughter!” _

 

“You know who she is?”

 

_ “That’s the daughter of the not-so-late Ana Amari, Fareeha Amari, call sign Pharah. I may not know them personally, but I know  _ _ of _ _ them. They’re a military family, like mine.” _

 

“Good. Maybe you can get her from blowing me to smithereens.”

 

_ “I’m afraid I don’t have that kind of power. Pharah is not part of the egyptian army anymore. She’s now a commander for a private security firm called Helix Security International.” _

 

“A ‘private security firm?’ That’s the most decorated way to call a merc group I’ve ever heard.”

 

_ “Don’t get me wrong Snake, Pharah has done good, honorable work. In fact, she might be doing a better job at neutralizing AIs than we are.” _

 

“She was apart of the Anubis incident? I heard some stuff about that. The Patriots had nothing to do with that god program, as far as Otacon can confirm. But hers wasn’t already controlling most of the world!”

 

_ “Quite honestly, her fighting here doesn’t surprise me anymore. We’ve been keeping tabs on people that could follow behind the Overwatch recall, and she is certainly on that list.” _

 

“It’s not hard for me to see why. She would have been a little girl during the Omnic Crisis, and seeing her nuclear family around the people that ended it? She probably sees them as heroes. And she wants to be one too.

 

_ “Heh. Maybe we’re both experts on people like that… Meryl heard enough from me about the topic. I’ve never tried to stop her, but sometimes, she’s still convinced that there’s nothing but glory to take out of a military career.” _

 

“I know that too. I talked about it with Meryl once, way back during the Shadow Moses mission. But I like to think that Meryl knows better to believe in something else, maybe this Pharah girl knows too.”

 

_ “Fighting for the innocent.” _

 

“Or fighting for their families.”

 

_ “In any case, you’ve dealt with flight modules before, Snake. Use something accurate to shoot her out of the sky.” _

 

“Campbell, you do know that usually results in a suit malfunction or an explosion? You want me to kill her?”

 

_ “Of course not! Not if you can help it!” _

  
“Can’t you emphasize a little? She may not be your daughter, but she is someone’s…”


	10. The World Could Always Use More

" _Age mellows some people; others it makes rotten…"_

"I guess. Mei Ling, what can you tell me about this one orange and blue girl zipping around?"

" _Oh… that's Lena Oxton. You might recognize her better as her call sign; Tracer. She's a popular name remembered with Overwatch, regardless of the fact that she wasn't recruited until after the Omnic Crisis."_

"So she's been around since the Omnic Crisis? The girl doesn't look a day older than twenty-five."

" _The reason for that is… vague, at best. Years ago she was part of an experiment testing instantaneous transportation. But in the middle of it all something went wrong; Tracer would continually disappear, then appear, and she would just vanish like this hours, days, weeks, months at a time!"_

"So essentially, this girl is a time traveler?"

" _I suppose? I haven't been able to gather the exact details of what her chronal disassociation is capable of. All I know for certain is whatever that device anchored on her chest is, it helps Tracer manage her condition."_

"Going wherever you were, able to change the past…"

" _It doesn't work like that, either. Tracer's condition only affects her on the space-time plane. I doubt that she's capable of rewinding the physical universe to whatever point in time she wants. But wouldn't that mean that— gah, I don't know. I'm just spitballing at this point."_

"Ageless…"

" _Oh Snake, I'm so, so sorry. I completely forgot about your condition…"_

"Don't call it a condition. I'm working as intended, as a clone from Big Boss. The genetic alterations done to me were also supposed to speed my aging process. I'd be a threat to the Patriots if I was around for too long."

" _There's no reason for you to be out in the field doing this. We still know Meryl, she knows as much as we do how important what you're doing is."_

"Meryl is busy with her own work."

" _It doesn't have to be Meryl. It can be someone new!"_

"Are you trying to get me to pass on some torch I'm holding, or to outright retire?"

" _You've been doing these missions for years. And at this rate, you look like you've been at it since Big Boss' time—"_

"That's exactly why I need to keep going. I have to use the most out of what I have as a clone of him… At least you got a few years in you, Mei Ling."

" _But I won't be around forever either. And neither will Colonel Campbell, or Otacon, or Naomi. There are tons of people just like you_ _— real_ _heroes, Snake! Like Overwatch!"_


End file.
